Trials of the Dragon
by KATTALNUVA
Summary: Sequel to Clan of the Dragon. Ever wonder what it's like to take the Jedi trials? Ever wonder what it's like to take them under the tutelage of Chad Kantor, alias The Dragon, one of the few Jedi to face Darth Vader and live? You're about to find out.
1. The day Chad Kantor came home

**A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...**

**STAR WARS**

**Trials of the Dragon**

**13 years after the end of The Clone Wars, on the planet Naboo, Jedi Master Chad Kantor, one of the few Jedi to survive Order 66, has escaped once again from the vile clutches of Darth Vader formerly his long time rival from the Jedi Order, Anakin Skywalker.**

**Though Chad and his family escaped with their lives they have been left without a home and have no where to go.**

**Guided by the spirit of his master ****Yrrej Iksrege, Chad and his family are en route to the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where they have been told they will find something that will help them on their quest.**

**Little does Chad know that while their intelligence indicating that the Emperor is currently overseeing matters elsewhere in the galaxy, Lord Vader has sensed his former rival's approach, and is waiting for the chance to take his revenge…**

"Master… are you sure about this?"

"If my contact in the senate iscorrect Cera, then both Vader and the Emperor are currently at the planet Despayre." replied Chad.

"But even with both Vader and the Emperor gone, security on Coruscant is going to be tight." said Gan "Getting in and out of the Jedi Temple isn't going to be easy."

"We faced the Vader's own elite legion of Stormtroopers and won." said Zar "I really doubt a bunch of glorified policemen are going to give us much trouble."

"We're not here to fight Zar." said Kita "All we're going to do is infiltrate the Jedi Temple, find whatever Master Iksrege sent us here to get, and blow right out of here."

"Whatever you say Kita."

When Chad escaped the Jedi Temple thirteen years ago when Order 66 was given, he brought four five year old younglings with him; The female Togruta Kita, Zar the Iridonian Zabrak, Cera who was blue skinned Twi'lek, and Gan who was a Nautolan. None of them had ever expected that Jedi General Chad Kantor, better known by his fellow Jedi as "The Dragon" because of his skills with a lightsaber, secretly had a wife. For the past thirteen years Chad and his wife had raised the younglings as if they were their own, even though they weren't the same species. So far only Kita had been made a full Jedi Knight by their master, because back on Naboo she was the one who killed Commander Mordred and held off Vader long enough for Chad to arrive.

"Okay, let's go over the plan one more time. Kita, since you're the only one who has learned to use the force to turn invisible, you will accompany me into the Jedi Temple. Gan, Cera, and Zar, you will stay here and protect Kamilla and the ship, just in case. Once we give you the signal, get the ship ready to launch. Understood?"

"I guess."

"Okay, let's go."

Since their escape from Naboo, Chad had repainted the Dragoon, the custom starship that he and his family had been traveling in for a very long time. He was confident that no one would recognize it as the ship that had blasted its way past the blockade of Star Destroyers that had been stationed at Naboo during the time of their escape, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Stay here in the docking bay until I tell you otherwise, and don't draw attention to yourselves."

"Kita…"

"Yes Zar?"

"I just wanted to say… be careful out there."

For a great deal of their Kita couldn't stand Zar because of his rashness and inability to control his temper, but as they got older they grew attracted to each other, though neither of them would admit it. It became clear to Kita that Zar had feelings for her on Naboo when Zar tried to stop Vader from hurting her, though he only succeeded in getting his arm chopped off. Later after they were out of danger Zar wanted to confess his feelings, but found himself too embarrassed to do it. So Kita took pity on him and said, "Will you just shut up and kiss me already?"

"I will, just promise me you'll stay here and not do anything reckless or stupid."

"For you Kita, I'll do anything."

Chad and Kita made their way through the streets of Coruscant to the place where the ruins of the Jedi temple was. Kita hadn't forgotten the night when her master had saved her and the others thirteen years ago. Only last time they were riding around in a speeder, this time they were on foot. Finally the Temple was in sight, and Chad came to a stop. The temple used to be a magnificent sight to behold, now there was only ruins. Kita knew what her master had to be feeling, he had lived in the Jedi Temple his whole life, Kita and the others were still young when Chad saved them, but for those five years this place had been her home.

"I'll go first." said Chad "You follow after when I'm inside."

Chad got past the troopers guarding the perimeter using a mind trick. Kita got inside by turning herself invisible.

"So what are we looking for?"

"To be honest I'm not entirely sure. But if my master left us something it would probably be in his old room."

"Do you remember where it is?"

"It could walk to it blindfolded."

Chad and Kita made their way through the temple's ruined rooms, corridors, and hallways. The bodies had been disposed of long ago, but the scorch marks, the overloaded circuits, and the ruined pillars still remained. Chad and Kita couldn't put their fingers on it, but there was something about the temple that made them uneasy. The locals thought this place was haunted by the ghosts of the many Jedi that had been killed here.

"Here we are."

The room of Chad's late master, Yrrej Iksrege, was largely untouched save for the dust and cobwebs.

"Start searching."

To avoid attachment Jedi didn't have a lot of possessions, so it didn't take Kita and her master long to search the room. They found a box in a secret compartment under the bed.

"I sense this is what we came for."

"Good, now let's get out of here before…"

Chad could feel it too. There was a great tremor in the force just now, they weren't alone.

**(To be continued)**

**Okay, I admit these first couple chapters aren't all that great because I need to set up the story for people who didn't read the first one, but trust me it gets better.**

**Illustrations of the following Characters can be found on deviantart**

**Jedi Master Chad Kantor**

**Jedi Knight Kita**

**Zar**

**Jedi Padawan Cera**

**Jedi Padawan Gan**

**Kamilla Kantor and her son**


	2. The Darkness Within

Zar stared at his right arm. He had lost his real one on Naboo when he tried to protect Kita from Darth Vader. Even with Gan's superior mechanical skills it still didn't feel like an arm, it was just a mechanical component.

"Vader…"

Zar had also lost his lightsaber during the confrontation. Over the years Zar had practiced Juyo, the most vicious of the seven forms of lightsaber combat. He practiced this form because at a very young age he saw Master Windu practice this form. He was amazed by the Jedi Master's skill, moving so fast that it looked like he was wielding maybe seven lightsabers at once. But even after all the years he spent trying to master this form, Zar had lost to Commander Mordred on Naboo. The Commander of the 501st legion was neither Sith nor force sensitive, and yet he made Zar look like a joke. He had resolved to train even harder than before, but so far hadn't achieved greater results.

Suddenly Zar's thoughts were interrupted. He looked up and out at the ruins of the Jedi Temple in the distance. Chad's wife Kamilla, who had been attending to their infant son who was crying, noticed this.

"What is it?"

Cera and Gan could feel it too.

"Oh no…"

"It's Vader."

Their intelligence had been wrong. Vader wasn't on Despayre with the Emperor, he was still here on Coruscant. And now he was on his way to take revenge. Zar could see in his mind that his master wouldn't be able to stop Vader this time, and Kita who had been no match for Vader the last time certainly wouldn't be able to face him this time.

"Kita…"

Vader had already severed Zar's arm, but he wasn't going to just sit and wait while the girl he loved was going to be killed. He turned around and used the force to call his new lightsaber to his hand.

"Zar, what are you doing?!" asked Kamilla.

Zar didn't answer he was already off the ship and racing towards the temple.

"Zar!!!"

"I won't let you die Kita… I won't!"

"We have to stop him!" said Cera.

"No." said Gan "Master told us to stay here, protect Kamilla, his son, and the ship. If he and the others come back we will need to be ready to get out of here."

"But what about him, Kita, and Zar?"

"We can only pray that the force is with them."

Chad and Kita were already racing through the interior of the temple, carrying the box they had found in Master Iksrege's room. They were trying to get out the way they came before it was too late. They had made it all the way to an old training chamber when they found the passage blocked. Through the smashed wall Kita could see that the sky had grown dark, and that it had started to rain. Suddenly both she and her master heard the sound of a man breathing through a respirator. Kita's feet froze and she trembled in fear, it was just like last time.

"Welcome home… Master Kantor…" said the dark lord mockingly as he stepped out of the shadows "Our rivalry began in these very chambers, it only seems appropriate that it should end here as well."

"Run Kita…"

"Master…"

"Get out of here now!"

Before Kita could move, Vader reached up and used the force to bring the wall down on the way they had entered the room.

"You cannot run from the power of the dark side."

Chad had to see to it that whatever information his master had left behind got to his family so they could be safe, and now the only way out was through Vader. He pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, and Vader did likewise.

"I warned you on Naboo, Skywalker… If you ever came near me or my family ever again I'd kill you…"

"Really… Because after I kill you your family will follow."

"No way, not on my watch!"

Kita watched as her master clashed blades with Vader. During their time here in the Jedi Temple they had become archrivals and sparred with each other on many occasions. They could almost predict each others moves. Kita may have practiced the most defensive form of lightsaber combat because it was the form practiced by Master Kenobi, the one who defeated Vader on Mustafar. But now she understood the real reason Obi-Wan succeeded, it was because he had intimate knowledge of how Vader dueled.

Vader's attacks were so vicious; Kita wasn't sure how her Master was able to fight back.

"In your heart you know I am your superior Kantor, and still you do not submit."

"Last I checked, I was the one who defeated you on Naboo."

"Only by giving in to the dark side, even if it was only brief… A power I have been in possession of for thirteen years… You know you are no match… and still you fight… Does a Jedi's pride live even after thirteen years of exile?"

"It's not pride at all… You destroyed your own life and your own family Skywalker… I won't let you destroy mine."

The ferocity of Vader's attacks intensified. Chad could see something different in Vader's fighting style. Last time he had taunted Vader until his anger left him wide open for his attacks, but this time Vader's anger wasn't clouding his judgment, it was focused. Vader hammered harder and harder at him. Suddenly…

"AAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHH!!!"

Vader's scored a wound across Chad's shoulder; he dropped his lightsaber and fell to the floor. Vader stood above him and held his lightsaber over his heart, ready to pierce it.

"Now I will destroy you Kantor, as I destroyed your master."

"NOOOOO!!!"

Kita didn't care how afraid she was of Vader, she wasn't going to let him kill the man who had trained her and had been like a father to her since she was five years old. She ignited her own lightsaber and charged at the dark lord, but Vader merely raised his free hand and Kita found herself once again in the grip of Vader's force choke, just like the last time.

"I thought I had disposed of you on Naboo young one… However that mistake is easily remedied."

"VADER!!! GET AWAY FROM THEM!!!"

A huge chunk of debris came hurtling down at Vader, it was enough to break his concentration and free Kita from his grip. It also gave Chad the opportunity he needed to roll along the floor away from the dark lord. Zar jumped down from balcony above with his lightsaber in hand and faced the Sith Lord.

"I thought you would have learned your lesson boy." said Vader looking at Zar's mechanical right arm.

"Last time I was wounded from dueling your subordinate… This time I'm fresh."

"It is of no consequence boy… You are no match for the dark side."

"We'll see about that."

Kita watched as the violet blade of Zar's lightsaber clashed with Vader's Crimson one. Zar was attacking viciously and it looked like he was driving Vader back, but Kita knew better than that.

"Zar! It's a ruse!"

Too late, Vader had fooled Zar into thinking he had the upper hand; he then knocked his lightsaber out of his hand with one swift strike. Vader then used the force to blast Zar through a wall. The young Iridonian zabrak could feel warm blood on his lips as the dark lord stepped on top of him. But Zar wasn't looking at Vader, he was looking at Kita who stood frozen on the other side.

"Ah… love." said Vader "A dreadful bond, and one so easy to destroy… Once I destroy you both you can spend an eternity together."

Anger swelled up in Zar like never before, he channeled the force through his left hand and blasted Vader, it wasn't enough so he pushed harder, and harder, and harder, until finally he sent Vader flying though the same whole in the wall he had blasted him through. When he emerged he saw that he made a huge dent in Vader's helmet, and his respirator was wheezing. Suddenly Zar could feel energy spiking in his left hand. Lightening was dancing in it.

"That's it!" he thought "If I can overload the life support systems that keep him alive, then I can kill him."

"Zar, no!"

Kita rushed over and stopped him.

"He's beaten, let it go."

Part of Zar was yelling at him to finish Vader, but the other part was telling him to listen to Kita, the way she looked at him made Zar realize what he was doing.

"By the force… what am I doing?!" he thought.

Vader started to stir.

"Kita… Zar… we need to get back to the ship… now!" said Chad getting to his feet.

**(To be continued)**


	3. Holocrons

Gan made sure that the Dragoon was ready to take off as soon as the Master, Kita, and Zar got back, if they got back. Kantor's son hadn't stopped crying since they felt Vader's presence. Kamilla was starting to wonder if her little child had inherited some force sensitivity from his father. She was the only person in this family that had no connection to the force; she often wondered if Chad and the others could see things she couldn't.

"Can you see anything?" she asked.

"In all honesty Kamilla, no." replied Cera "We've never mastered voluntary foresight. We've spent the last thirteen years learning to survive a life of exile, and to hope for a better future. And even if we could see into the future, there's no proof that it would come to pass. We've been taught that the future is always in motion, unlike history it isn't a written book."

Suddenly Cera could sense something approaching.

"Gan, is the ship ready to go?!"

"Everything's in order, the coordinates are set and we're ready to go to hyperspace the minute we breach the atmosphere."

"Good, because I think the Master and the others are in a little trouble."

Chad, Kita, and Zar raced through the city streets pursued by the Stormtroopers of the 501st. They weren't able to fight back because someone had to help Chad to move while the other had to carry the box they found in the temple. Chad only prayed that the others and the ship hadn't been discovered; otherwise they wouldn't have a way out. When they made it to the docking bay they were relieved to see that the Dragoon was still there and in one piece.

"Stop that ship! Blast them!"

"Gan! Get us out of here!"

As soon as Chad and the others were aboard the Dragoon rocketed off into the sky. They were followed into space by a group of TIE fighters, but Chad's pupils easily dispatched them with the Dragoon's laser turrents. Before any of the Star Destroyers patrolling the planet could intercept them they made the jump to hyperspace.

"Not quite according to plan?" asked Gan.

"No… I think I'm getting too old for this." said Chad.

"Did you get what you went in for?"

"Yes."

"Let's just hope what your master left us was worth all the trouble we just went through."

"Uh… Master we have a problem. It's asking for a password."

"Hmm… A password… I think I know what it is."

Chad typed a word on the box's console.

Kamilla

Before he died, Chad's master revealed to him that he knew all along about his marriage to Kamilla, he just never told the rest of the Order because he thought they were a perfect match. It would only make sense that it was a secret word he used. The box opened and Chad and his students examined its contents.

"It's full of holocrons!" exclaimed Kita.

"What?" asked Kamilla.

"Short for holographic chronicle." explained Chad "These are data storage devices that contain Jedi knowledge. I'm willing to bet my master foresaw that the temple would be taken by the 501st, and he sought to make sure that certain Jedi knowledge didn't end up in the hands of the Sith. Perhaps he also saw that we would need some of this knowledge."

"So… you think one of these will lead us to a new home?" asked Cera.

"I hope so."

For awhile Gan piloted the Dragoon to random coordinates across the galaxy to make sure that they had lost the imperial forces. Chad was busy trying to figure out what sort of information the holocrons contained. Zar however could not take his eyes off his left hand.

"Zar…"

"Kita I… I don't know what happened… I… I felt so angry… at Vader… at everything… I wanted to kill him…"

"Whatever your impulse was you didn't act on it." said Kita "All Jedi are tempted by the dark side at some point in their life, what matters is that you find the strength to overcome that temptation."

"Maybe I should have killed him. He not only cut of my other arm, he almost killed you, not to mention the blood of hundreds of Jedi, including our own master's master, is on his hands. I would have done the galaxy a favor."

"Zar, killing Vader wouldn't change anything. If you had killed him The Emperor would have realized that there is someone in the galaxy more powerful than him, more fit to be his apprentice. That's how the Sith work. When someone better comes along they toss you aside like yesterday's trash. The Emperor doesn't see a small band of fugitive Jedi as a threat to his power, but if one of them killed Vader he would make that person his new apprentice… It's better for us to just disappear."

"And let the Sith rule the galaxy?"

"Governments, kingdoms, dynasties, empires will come and go. I'm sure that one day someone will knock Palpatine off his perch… but I have a feeling it won't be us. After all we're just one Jedi Master, a Knight, and three Padawans against an entire empire. Right now there is nothing we can do but keep the Jedi ways alive, even if it means we have to continue to live in secret."

"I guess you're right…"

"You do?"

"I've given up trying to argue with you since Naboo."

"By the way… Thanks for saving me."

"A Knight saved by a Padawan… Do I get some kind of medal for that?"

"No… Just this."

Without warning Kita kissed him on the lips. Not that Zar didn't enjoy it, but there something funny about it. Usually he had to ask Kita for permission before he could do that, and she never kissed him without warning before. His connection to the force told him that something was up.

**(To be continued)**

**Okay, I know these first couple chapters haven't been very good, but trust me, it gets better.**


	4. What Vader never learned

That night when Zar fell asleep, he didn't wake up for a very long time, and when he did wake up he felt very groggy.

"Oh… by the force… what happened last night?"

Zar got up, surprisingly there didn't appear to be anyone on the ship but himself.

"Kita? Cera? Gan? Anybody?"

Zar looked outside. The ship had landed on some strange planet he had never seen before. There was nothing but wasteland as far as he could see.

"Good morning Zar."

Zar ignited his lightsaber and spun around.

"Oh… Master, it's only you. Where is everybody?"

"On another planet entirely."

"What?"

"One of the holocrons my late master left behind for us contained a star map, it revealed several planets that aren't on any of the charts. So it's probably safe to assume that the empire doesn't know about them. Kita and the others are on one of these planets making a new home for us. We are on another planet for your training."

"Training for what?"

"Your trials."

Zar's heart skipped a beat.

"You… you… you think I'm ready to take the Jedi Trials?"

"No not yet… but that's why we're here Zar. To prepare you for the trials."

"What about Cera and Gan? Are they not ready?"

"Kita maybe a Jedi Knight, but she can't take care of Kamilla and my son, and make a new home for us all by herself. And your training has taken priority."

"Priority? What do you…"

Zar already knew the answer to his question before he finished it. He looked at his left hand, the organic one, and remembered what had happened the other day.

"Kita is afraid for you Zar. She's afraid that you have begun down the same dark path as Darth Vader."

Zar was about to deny it, but Chad had said that Kita herself feared for it.

"The Jedi Trials will put your skill, flesh, courage, and spirit to the test Zar, and through my tutelage you will learn what Darth Vader never learned, but I warn you, it will take dedication and time… Are you ready to begin?"

"Let's get started."

Chad took Zar outside to a small cave. There was a small room on the inside that he had prepared for their training.

"For the last thirteen years Zar we have been living in exile, and I taught you and the others the basic skills you needed to survive. Training for the Jedi Trials is a lot more difficult than that. From now on whenever you're not eating or sleeping you will be training with me. This training will be your whole life, until I tell you otherwise there is nothing outside of it. Do you understand that?"

Normally Zar would have answered the question right away. But given the circumstances he wondered if this was a trick question.

"Yes, master."

"The first trial a Jedi must pass is the Trial of Skill."

Chad drew his lightsaber and activated it.

"Remember Zar that a lightsaber is just a tool that Jedi uses, and a tool is only as good as the Jedi who wields it. In the hands of a true Jedi Master anything can be an effective weapon. Now draw and attack."

"Are… you sure master?"

"I said attack."

Zar drew his lightsaber and charged, with one single strike his master disarmed him.

"As you can see my young Padawan, we've got a long way to go."

Zar spent the next couple weeks exactly the way his master said he would. Every moment he didn't spend eating or sleeping he spent training. Zar spared with training droids and performed various exercises, whenever he was finished with them his master either said; do is again or do it better. Some of the holocrons that Chad's master had left behind contained information about the lightsaber combat forms, which Zar studied to help mend his fractured variant of Juyo.

"You seek to be as skilled as Master Windu Zar, but you must know that the reason he was such a skilled master of Form VII was because he had mastered control. Control of his feelings, control of his passion, control of his anger, control of his fear. If you are to master Juyo then you must learn control."

"But aren't you a celebrated practitioner of Form V master? Is that not why the rest of the Jedi Order nicknamed you 'The Dragon'? What do you know of Juyo?"

"I trust you remember Jedi Master Cin Drallig?"

"Of course."

"Cin Drallig was a master of almost all forms of lightsaber combat. He understood that predictability is a weakness your enemies will not go unpunished, so by mastering many forms of combat, you become unpredictable and can gain an advantage over your adversary."

"But that didn't save him when he fought Vader."

"Cin Drallig was good, but as Master Qui-Gon Jinn once said, there is always a bigger fish."

"What?"

"It means no matter how hard you train, there is someone better than you. Of course when he said it he was referring to an actual fish."

"How would you know that?"

"Master Kenobi told me."

As time progressed Chad could see that Zar didn't know what he meant when he told Zar there was to be nothing outside his training. One day he violently beat Zar to the ground when they were sparing.

"Your thoughts betray you Zar. You attention is focused elsewhere, on her."

Zar was on the verge of tears.

"Master, I've known Kita since we were five years old. We've never been apart. Why did you separate us? I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

"Kita isn't here, you are to focus your attention on the here and now."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I've separated you so you can learn what Vader never learned."

"And what is that?"

"To let go of everything you fear to lose. Kita above all other things."

"You hypocrite!"

Zar charged at his master and attempted to slash him with his lightsaber. But Chad blocked all of his blows and knocked Zar back down again.

"I thought I told you, never attack in anger. I'm not condoning what you feel Zar, I'm just saying that nothing is forever. We lose the ones we love, that is something you can't change."

"You've seen how I fought to save her. I just need to make sure that her death doesn't happen."

"Not let it happen? Anything can happen. She could be taken from you at any time, and you wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye. That is how I live, I protect my family unafraid of the thought of losing them, but always prepared to accept it should I fail, otherwise your attachment will turn to greed, and your greed will take control, just as it did to Anakin Skywalker. You've almost lost Kita twice already, and I can see you weren't ready to lose her. And what would Kita think I've you ended up like Vader."

Zar couldn't find the right words to express what he was feeling.

"Now… for Kita's sake, you will learn more than just the skills, courage, and discipline necessary to be a full Jedi Knight, you will train yourself to let go. You seemed to have learned very little from losing your arm to Vader, so this separation from Kita will be your Trial of the Flesh."

**(To be continued)**

**Can Zar learn what Anakin Skywalker never learned?**

**To let go of everything he fears to lose?**

**Does he have what it takes to pass the trials and overcome the darkness?**

**Stay tuned**


	5. The Trial of Skill

As time passed Zar tried his best to focus on his training, but he still thought of Kita. She would probably offer him some encouragement or congratulate him on his progress, but Kita wasn't there, only his master, all he ever said when Zar completed his exercises was, "Do it better" or "Do it again". It was like this for a month, so Zar was really surprised when his master woke him up one morning and told him they were going somewhere.

Zar sat in the Co-pilot's seat while his Master steered them through hyperspace. Weeks ago Zar had been tempted to hijack the Dragoon and escape the planet, but he had no idea where in galaxy to look for Kita, he realized that even if he had found her she would look down on him for quitting his training.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"We're going to the planet Boz Pity."

"Boz Pity? That planet's deserted."

"Yes, your actions there should go completely unnoticed."

"And what am I going to do?"

"I tell you when we get there."

When they finally made it to the surface of Boz Pity, Chad landed the Dragoon at the top of a deed canyon.

"Your patience is starting to pay off Zar. It is time for your first real test."

"You mean?"

"Yes. In order to pass the Trial of Skill, a Padawan must prove they have working knowledge of the Force and basic mastery of lightsaber combat. Down in that canyon is an old CIS battle droid factory that somehow survived the Clone Wars. To pass this trial you are to enter that factory and overload its generator, destroying it."

"And?"

"That's it."

"… Okay, I'll do it."

Zar slowly made his way down the canyon to the place where the factory was. The noises he heard and the smoke that he saw coming out of the stacks told him that the factory was operational. All part of his master's test he assumed. When he entered the building he was immediately met by a band of B1 Battle Droids led by several Super Battle Droids.

"Hands up Jedi!" they said raising their weapons.

Zar had heard all about the havoc caused by the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars, but that "war" ended thirteen years ago, so he wasn't afraid. He simply goaded the droids into attacking.

"Blast him!"

Zar ignited his lightsaber and deflected every shot fired at him right back at the source.

\

"Uh-oh."

"Roger, roger. Call for backup, call for…"

Before the droid could finish its sentence Zar sliced its head off. Suddenly he heard something that sounded like it was rolling toward him.

"Oh great. Droidekas."

Twin Droidekas came out from down the hall and started to fire. Zar knew he couldn't beat their personal energy shields, but there was a very easy way to get around that. He turned and ran, deflecting or dodging any shots that came at him, the droids then started rolling to pursue their quarry, leaving them wide open to an attack. Seizing the opportunity Zar hurled his lightsaber with the force, slicing the droids in half. He continued to push through any droids that came his way as he went through the factory.

"I could do this all day; this is way too easy… Wait a minute… it is too easy. The trials are supposed to push Padawans to their limits, and these rusty antique droids aren't even making me break a sweat. There has to be more to this."

Zar had finally made it to the room where the generator was. After thirteen years he was surprised that it was still able to run. That's when he heard the hiss of a lightsaber activating; he looked up just in time to see something dropping from the ceiling. He jumped back so he could get a better look at his attacker. At first he thought it was the ghost of General Grievous or something, but then he realized that the head wasn't the same shape, it only had what looked like a copy of the General's body. The droid rose to its full height wielding twin lightsabers, Zar could tell they weren't the training lightsabers used by the droids he had sparred with for the past month.

"I think I've found the real challenge."

Zar lunged at the droid, but when his lightsaber made contact with it's body it shorted out. He tried to reactivate it, but to no avail.

"Oh boy, not good."

Zar concluded that the droid's body was made of cortosis, a very rare ore that was resistant to even a lightsaber. Now he was without a weapon and staring down a terrifying droid he had never seen before. The droid slashed at him viciously, Zar jumped away back and tried to use the force to blow the droid into a wall, but it didn't budge, it looked like its feet had the same magnetic properties as Grievous' Magna Guards.

"Definitely not good."

Zar did his best to keep his distance from the droid, but it continued to pursue him.

"Kita… Kita could figure out how to do this."

Just then something snapped in Zar's head.

"Kita's not here!" he heard himself think "And if you don't beat this thing you'll never see her again. This isn't a training droid, fight or die!"

Zar finally understood why his master didn't want him to think about Kita during his training. Right now it was just a distraction, he had been thinking too much about the goal that wasn't in reach, and hadn't given any thought to the road in between him and it.

"Stop thinking about the future and exist for the moment, in the here and now." he told himself "Relax and take each step at a time, starting with this droid. You can do this, it's just a bucket of bolts, and you're a Jedi!"

Zar continued to dodge the droid's vicious lightsaber strikes, until he decided he that he had had enough. Calling on the force, he pulled the droid's lightsabers out of its hands and threw them into the wall. They wouldn't be of any use to him because of its cortosis body. Without a weapon the droid proceeded to lash out at Zar with its bare hands.

"Great, I no longer need to worry about it slicing me in half, now I only need to worry about it tearing me apart… Patience is a virtue, one step at a time." he reminded himself.

Zar couldn't attack the droid with a lightsaber, he couldn't push with the force, and direct hand to hand combat was suicide, so what could he do? He kept jumping and leaping out of the droid's path analyzing his adversary and looking for an answer, all the while the droid leapt after him. Suddenly Zar found a solution to his problem, its feet may have been magnetized when it was on the ground, but it couldn't be doing that if it wasn't on the ground.

Zar leapt up high into the air, forcing the droid to follow, when he saw that it was airborne he turned around and blasted it with the force, sending it crashing into a wall. Before the droid could recuperate he used the force to lift any heavy objects he could find off the ground and then threw them at killing speeds. When he was done he saw that the droid had been crushed.

"Good, now let's blow this place up and get out of here before another one shows up."

Zar took the charges he had been given and set them to detonate by remote. He made his way out of the factory and detonated the charges when he was far enough away. When the sound from the explosion died he heard someone applauding, he turned around and saw that it was his master.

"Well done, you've passed your first test with flying colors."

"Yeah, step one completed." said Zar "What's step two?"

"To get to step three."

**(To be continued)**


	6. Courage or Suicide?

Zar had passed the first of the Jedi Trials, but he knew there was more to come. So the next day he started training again.

"What are you doing?"

Zar was training against the remotes and droids just like before, but this time he was doing it without his lightsaber.

"That battle opened my eyes master. I need to learn not to be dependant on my lightsaber, there will probably be more times like that when I will be unable to use it".

"Excellent idea."

For weeks Zar practiced against his adversaries unarmed. He was learning how to use the force to increase his speed and strength when he needed it to. He was learning to dodge blaster bolts instead of deflect them. One day Chad had left Zar all alone on the planet and didn't return for days. Zar had assumed that he was checking on the new home that Kita and the others were building for them. When he returned he had told Zar that in addition to his training, he was to study some records he had brought for him, much to Zar's surprise the data was about criminals and bounty hunters. One disturbing thing they all had in common, was that they were, or at one time had been associated with one of the most feared beings in the galaxy… Jabba the Hutt.

"I got a really bad feeling about where this is going."

Finally after what seemed like another month of training Zar was again approached by his master.

"Your skill is improving at an even greater pace Zar, you've learned to focus on the situation at hand, and avoid any unnecessary distractions."

"Don't get the wrong idea."

"It's okay that you love her, but you must still master your feelings Zar. You and the others have had me to guide you for thirteen years, but one day I will be gone. Your decision to train in a manner you find necessary is a sign that you're growing up and learning to take care of yourself, but there is still more you must learn. You confronted Vader by burying your fear with anger, but and is not the path of the Jedi. It is time that you learn to confront your fear."

"The Trial of Courage?"

"Yes… But I must warn you now; there is more to this next mission than just your Jedi training."

"Enlighten me."

"You've probably been wondering why I left you all alone on this rock for a few days."

"You did it to test me, didn't you?"

"Not exactly. I discovered that Cera has a little sister."

"A sister?!"

"Yes. Her biological parents had a second child sometime after Cera was 'adopted' by the Jedi Order. When the Jedi all but whipped out by Vader they thought it was safe to have another child again, but they were wrong… now her parents are dead."

"Where is she now?"

"Her parents were killed by some slave traders. As I'm sure you know female twi'leks are worth a lot of credits in the slave market, even at such young age because eventually they grow up. The slavers sold her to the highest bidder."

"And who was that?"

"None other than Jabba the Hutt."

"By the force… Cera's little sister in the hands of that gangster! How long has she been his slave?!"

"Fortunately for us, not long. She's being kept at Jabba's Palace until she grows up, at which time I'm certain Jabba will make her one of his slaves for entertainment and pleasure."

"And we're not gonna let that happen, are we?"

"To Hell if we are."

"So what are we going to do about it?"

"It's not what we're doing Zar, it's what you're doing."

Zar just stood there for a few moments.

"You want me to burst into Jabba's Palace and demand that he hand over Cera's sister?"

"Actually I was hoping that you would bargain with him and avoid any unnecessary conflict. You don't want the Hutts as your enemies, but if Jabba refuses we can't just leave to her fate. Cera is the only family she has left."

"But… Master that place will be crawling with parasites armed to the teeth with who knows what."

"The same parasites you have been extensively studying. Zar, I wouldn't be asking this of you unless I knew you could do it."

Zar's master would really trust the life of Cera's little sister in his hands? He actually believed that he could infiltrate Jabba's Palace, rescue the girl, and get out alive?

"Okay master, I'll do it."

**(To be continued)**


	7. Jabba's Palace

Zar knew that in order to pass the trial of courage, a Padawan had to fight courageously in battle, defeat a superior enemy, or complete a mission with a low chance of survival, but he never thought he would have to barge into the palace of the feared gangster Jabba the Hutt to rescue Cera's little sister. As the Dragoon came into Tatooine's atmosphere Chad instructed Zar on what he was to do.

"No one must discover that you're a Jedi. It's bad enough that we're messing with the Hutts, but if Jabba finds out you're a Jedi he'll sell us to the Empire."

Zar was glad he had been training without his lightsaber for the past month, because he was going to have to do this mission without it. The only person in the galaxy who could pull out a lightsaber without raising suspicion was Darth Vader, so to sell the deception Zar was going in disguised as an Iridonian bounty hunter.

"I doubt Jabba will just sell you one of his slaves without a fuss, but just in case he does, take this."

Chad tossed Zar a small bag that felt very heavy.

"What's in this?"

"Something valuable. Now remember, try not to kill anyone. If Jabba loses some of his hired muscle it will only make him angrier. We're already enemies of the Empire, we don't want every bounty hunter at the Hutt clan's disposal looking for us as well."

The Dragoon touched down in one of the docking bays in Mos Eisley.

"Meet me here as soon as you've completed your mission. Remember Zar, Cera's counting on you to bring her sister back safely."

Zar had thought at first that this mission was suicide, but then his master had said it himself that he knew Zar could do this, he wouldn't be asking him to this if it were otherwise. Besides, passing this trial would bring Zar one step closer to Kita.

"I won't fail you Master."

It was dark as Zar raced through the Dune Sea on the speeder bike his master had given him.

"All alone in the middle of dessert in the middle of night while my master sits snug in the Dragoon. Jabba probably already knows I'm coming. I hear he has spies all over the planet. I wonder what my master could possibly have that would convince Jabba to sell one of his slaves."

Zar brought the speeder to a halt so he could examine the contents of the bag he had been given.

"By the force!"

The bag was full of Krayt dragon pearls, lustrous colored stones found in the last chamber of the gizzard of Krayt dragons. There were easily worth at least a hundred thousand credits each. But in order to obtain these, you would have to kill a Krayt dragon, a creature of such ferocity and power that the Jedi themselves had named a form of lightsaber combat after it. Zar wondered how his master could have killed one.

"I'll ask him about that later, right now I should get back to the mission, besides, I can feel some Tusken Raiders approaching."

Zar continued across the Dune Sea until Jabba's palace came into view.

"I just hope he's in the mood to listen."

Zar hadn't gone five steps when some Jawas came out and moved toward his speeder.

"Touch the bike and I'll kick you to next moon." he said.

The Jawas immediately ran off. Zar made his way to palace door.

"I guess I better knock."

Zar knocked on door. Almost instantly a gatewatcher droid came out of a hole in the door.

"What do you want?" it said in Huttese.

Fortunately for Zar, he and the others had been taught to speak many languages over the years while they were on the run.

"I'm here on behalf of my client." he replied in prefect Huttese "He wishes to make a deal with the mighty Jabba, one that your master can profit greatly from."

The gatewatcher laughed and went back into the wall, at first Zar thought it wasn't going to let him in, but then the gate rose.

"So far so good."

Zar went inside and the gate closed behind him. Moments after entering he was halted by some of the guards.

"Gamorreans…" thought Zar in disgust "But as ugly as they are, they're nothing compared to what's coming up next."

Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, came up the corridor to where Zar stood.

"What is your business here?" he asked in his native language.

"As I told that gatewatcher, I'm here to act as an agent in a transaction between my client and your master, the great and powerful Jabba."

"What sort of transaction?"

"One that is beneficial to my client, but even more profitable to your master."

"And who would your client be?"

Zar could tell this was going nowhere fast, Jabba himself might be immune to a Jedi mind trick, but his majordomo certainly wasn't.

"You will take me to see Jabba now." said Zar.

"… I will take you to see Jabba now."

Fortuna escorted Zar through the palace's corridors until they came to the main audience chamber. As they entered Zar noticed that everyone that wasn't asleep was looking at him.

"What a lovely nest of vipers Jabba has surrounded himself with."

Zar looked carefully at all the goons he passed by, taking in every little detail, looking for something he might need to remember later, until they came to Jabba smoking his Hookah pipe.

"Whoa… he's even more grotesque in person."

Fortuna went over and explained the situation to his master.

"And what sort of business does the young bounty hunter have with me?" he said in Huttese.

"Mighty Jabba, my client wishes to make a bargain with you that you will find most profitable." replied Zar.

It looked like Zar had gotten Jabba's attention.

"And were I in a trading mood, what then might I trade?"

"We understand that you've come into the possession of a young blue skinned Twi'lek girl."

Before Zar could continue his sentence Jabba pressed the button next to his pipe. The hutt laughed as Zar fell into the rancor pit below.

**(To be continued)**


	8. Trial of Courage

**New illustration on deviantart: Zar (Bounty Hunter Disquise)**

"Looks like Jabba wants to do it the hard way."

Zar finally hit the ground. When he looked up he was face to face with the rancor.

"Oh blasters."

The rancor started to advance on Zar. The last time he encountered one of these creatures, he was with the others on the planet Caridia. Kita had handled the beast, Zar remembered how awesome she had looked that day.

"Focus Zar, focus…" he told himself as he dodged the beast's talons "How did she bring it down?"

Zar remembered that Kita didn't actually kill the rancor they had encountered on Caridia, she just managed to gain control of it's mind.

"Okay, reach out with the force and grip the beast's mind, this is no different than controlling Bib Fortuna, it's only different in your mind."

With the rancor on a rampage, it was a little difficult for Zar to get control of it, but killing it wasn't an option, if he did that then Jabba would be that much angrier.

"Tear down the door."

Under the influence of it's new master, the rancor ran over to the door and ripped it out of the wall, it was far to small for the great beast to follow, but it was just what Zar needed to escape.

Zar ran down the maze of hallways looking for the dungeons. Guards came at him from every direction. No thought clouded Zar's mind as he dodged the blaster fire that came at him, he knew he had no time to think, plan, or doubt, he didn't have the others here to help him, he had no lightsaber, no blaster, and no thermal detonators to help him, he had only himself, and the force. This was just another test set for him by his master, but to fail was to die.

But Zar had prepared for this, for the past month he had been training himself how to fight without a lightsaber. His idol, Master Windu, had displayed such skill on Dantooine. Zar's encounter with the Grievous-like droid on Boz Pity told him that he needed to learn it, and when Zar was passionate about something he learned it fast. He was much too fast for Jabba's goons, whom he had studied extensively before his mission. He disarmed and disabled them quickly, but was careful not to do any permanent damage."

"Garguta, Gamorrean muscle, broke a few ribs a few weeks ago, they won't heal anytime soon. Lak-na, Weequay gunslinger, left handed. Goodoo, small time Rodian bounty hunter, relies too much on weapons, I don't."

After running a gauntlet of Jabba's goons, Zar made it to the dungeons. He stared searching the cells, the first four times he found something unpleasant, finally in the fifth cell he believed he had found what he was looking for, There was a young blue skinned female Twi'lek hunched in the corner, who didn't look any older than six. Zar used the force to tear the door out of the wall. The little Twi'lek looked at him surprised. Zar saw that her eyes were a little pink, she must have been crying.

"Are you Sora?" he asked.

"Ye… Yes…"

Even before she answered Zar knew he had hit pay dirt. She looked just like Cera when he had first met her.

"I'm here to save you."

Sora was trembling, she was probably just as terrified of him as she was of anything else here in the Hutt's palace. It made Zar think of how Kita would handle the situation, she could probably smile and assure the girl that everything was going to be alright, but Zar knew better.

"Who are you?" asked Sora.

Zar could sense that more of Jabba's goons were on the way.

"Now is not the time for introductions. Just know that I'm your only hope of getting out of this hellhole."

Zar pulled Sora through the maze of hallways looking for an exit. Her safety was now his top priority. When they came around a corner they saw a whole group of guards up ahead, Zar also saw a huge pipe hanging above them. Knowing they would just assume it broke off, Zar grabbed it with the force and threw it on top of the guards.

"Wow! That was lucky!" said Sora.

"I make my own luck."

Zar and Sora encountered very little resistance the rest of the way. It was too easy to be true. When they had just reached the exit a blaster bolt flew right past Zar's head, way too close for comfort. He turned to see what the source was.

"Oh crap."

"Quite a mess you've made of the place… Nothing personal, but I'm going to take your head back to Jabba now." said Boba Fett.

Boba Fett, a perfect genetic clone of the late Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett. The most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy, one for whom no job was too hard if the pay was right, and who had earned the respect of Darth Vader himself. And he was in-between Zar and the exit.

"I've never seen or heard of you before… First night on the job." said Fett.

"I guess you could say that."

"Well for a rookie you sure know your stuff, too bad what could have been a promising career for you will be tragically cut short."

Zar was already on the move and Sora had taken cover before Fett fired his next shot. Zar dodged them like he had dodged the shots fired by Jabba's other minions, but each of Fett's were too close.

"Hmm, I've got a slippery one."

Fett reached into his belt and pulled out a thermal detonator, he was going to make Zar pick his poison. He threw the detonator the way Zar was trying to run, and fired at the arena he came from with his blaster, Zar had no choice, just as the thermal detonator exploded he jumped back and was hit in the chest with a blaster bolt. His armor had saved him from the worst of it, but his chest felt like it was on fire.

"Ignore the pain…" thought Zar "Lock it away… Your pain doesn't matter… you don't matter… You promised your master you were going to get Cera's little sister out of here alive… Now fight or die!"

Zar knew he had to be careful, Boba Fett had a grudge against the Jedi, and could probably tell if he was one or not. He had to take away Fett's blaster and his advantage, but he couldn't use the force to do it, instead he took a huge leap and kicked it out of Fett's hand.

"Alright tough guy, let's see how you like this."

Zar was close enough for Fett to attack him with his flamethrower. Still struggling with the wound on his chest, it took Zar a minute to gather his energies; he leapt out of the way just as the fire touched him.

"It hurts so bad… but I can't give up!"

Zar didn't let Fett reach his blaster, he jumped at the bounty hunter and kicked him into a wall before he could get to it.

"Well, I'll give you bonus points for courage, but if you think I'm going to let you win this fight, you're sadly mistaken."

Fett bent down on his knees. Before Zar could wonder what this meant, the missile that had been on Fett's jetpack came at him. As he jumped aside Fett flew at him using his jetpack and punched him hard in the chest, where it already hurt. Zar was now flat on the ground, but still struggled to get up.

"Anyone else would have thrown in the towel the moment they saw me." said Fett "Let alone be able to endure this pain and still try to come back for more. What makes you so special?"

Zar rolled over onto his back and laughed.

"I don't care if you are the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy Fett… I don't care if Jabba would put a bounty on my head so high that everyone would be looking for me if I succeed… My client hired me to bring that little Twi'lek girl back to him by any means necessary… and I never… ever… quit a job… till it's finished."

Just then Zar the unmistakable sound of Jabba's laughing. He had slithered into the room accompanied by his goons while he and Fett had been fighting.

"This young bounty hunter is my kind of scum." he said in Huttese. "Fearless, unpredictable, and maybe a little insane."

Fett took a step backward, Zar used the opportunity to reach into his bag, pull out a huge bacta patch, and slap it on his chest.

"Your skills impress me boy… You may have the girl… for a price."

"Here…" said Zar tossing him the bag his master had given him "This ought to cover the girl, the mess I made, and then some."

Jabba's accountant looked at the bag's contents. He shocked to see how many Krayt pearls were inside.

"Keep the change."

"How very generous of you bounty hunter." said Jabba "The girl is yours… Just so you know I could make a man of your talents very rich."

"I'll bare that in mind." he said turning to Sora "Let's go."

Zar's bacta patch still hadn't worked its magic, so Cera had to help him walk back to his speeder bike outside.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel like my chest is on fire but I'm good. I just need a few minutes to catch my breath and for the bacta to sink in."

"…Thanks for saving me."

"… No problem… My name's Zar by the way."

When Zar felt like he could function again he and Cera mounted his speeder bike and took off.

"Zar, where are we going?"

"We're going to Mos Eisley. My master is there with a ship that will take us off this rock."

"You're a slave too?"

"What? No, he's not a slave owner. He's a Jedi Master, and I am his Padawan."

"Jedi Master? Padawan? What are those?"

Zar wasn't surprised that Sora didn't know about the Jedi. She had been born into a galaxy where the light of the Jedi was all but extinguished.

"I think my master will explain it better to you."

When Zar had made it back to Mos Eisley, Chad was very relieved to see that he was still alive, and had brought Sora back without a scratch.

"It is done master, and the Hutt's will not bother us."

"I'm sure you have an exciting story to tell, but first you should probably spend some time in the bacta tank."

"I'd like that… Oh before I forget, Sora this is Jedi Master Chad Kantor, Master this is Sora."

"Hello Sora."

"I'm… I'm pleased to meet you." she said trying to be as polite as she could.

"Well I'm sure you've had a very crazy evening… Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Master Kantor… I have to know… why did you have Zar save me?"

"Because we know your sister Sora, and we know she's the only family you have left."

"Sister? But I don't have a sister."

"Yes you do, you've just never met her. I'll tell you all about it in the morning."

**(To be continued)**

**(Please keep reading, we're almost to the best part)**


	9. Trial of the Flesh

Zar spent the entire trip in the bacta tank, when he got out he felt like he could take on the whole empire by himself, but he knew better. Boba Fett could have killed him easily, it was only by Jabba's intervention that he and Sora got out of there alive. A certain Jedi had once said, "Sometimes the force is with you, sometimes you just get lucky."

"Jedi are supposed to make their own luck."

Zar knew he was going to have to train harder for the next trial, these had been nothing like the trials that Padawans used to take; he was starting to worry that for the Trial of the Spirit he would have to take on the Emperor himself. He would begin training as soon as he got back.

"Zar, I'm going to take Sora back to the others, I trust you will be fine until I return?"

"I just went into Jabba's Palace to steal one of his slaves and lived; I think I'll be fine."

"Do your best to prepare yourself Zar, your greatest test is yet to come."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

Zar spent the rest of the day training himself, he practiced with and without his lightsaber. He was hoping that next time he had to do something else insanely dangerous, at least he would be allowed to do it with his weapon. He didn't stop until he finally admitted he was too tired to carry on.

"One more mouth to feed…" thought Zar "Of course Kamilla won't think of it that way. One look and she'll be all about how cute Sora is."

The planet that Zar had been staying on for the duration of his training wasn't on any of the charts. One of the benefits of being on a deserted planet was that it was easy to see the stars at night.

"I wonder where they are… They've had over two months to find a new home for us… Hopefully this time is the last time…"

Zar had been told that during his training, there was to be nothing outside of it. But it wasn't that easy to keep Kita out of his dreams. He dreamt about her every night, but he always woke up before the best part. When he woke up in the morning, Chad still wasn't back.

"Whatever, I'll just train myself."

Zar continued training on his own for days, then days turned to weeks, and weeks turned into another month.

"It's okay… They haven't abandoned you… it's probably just a test… or maybe Gan has an orphan second cousin he never knew. Ha! Why am I always so funny when no one's around?"

Zar knew his master must not have returned yet for a reason. He would make the most of his time by preparing for whatever his next trial would be. He had passed the Trial of Skill, and he had survived his Trial of Courage by pure luck, that just left the Trials of Flesh and the Trial of the Spirit.

"I don't know what insane thing my master will have me do for the Trial of the Spirit… but he said my Trial of the Flesh would be being away from Kita this long… Why couldn't it be something easier?"

Time continued to pass and Zar's master still hadn't returned. He continued to train himself every day trying not to think about Kita. He spent all his time trying to learn new techniques and to perfect the ones he already knew. His skills with his lightsaber had improved, though he'd been unable to turn invisible like Kita he had learned to hide his presence in the force. But all his achievements were hollow, because he had no one to share them with.

"Is that what this is? Another part of my Trial of the Flesh?"

When a Jedi took the Trial of the Flesh the apprentice had to overcome great physical pain, hardship, or loss. It could also test the Jedi's mastery of detachment from physical pleasure and people. But the loss itself didn't qualify the a pass, it was what the Jedi learned from the experience. Zar had thought earlier that losing his arm like Anakin Skywalker would qualify him, but he hadn't learned anything from the experience, he just hated Vader and the Sith that much more.

"What haven't I learned… If Kita were here she could tell me… Kita…"

That night Zar didn't stop training until he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. When he finally fell asleep he started dreaming, he saw people he knew and people who were long dead, they all spoke to him.

"Death is a natural part of life."

"Death doesn't wait for you to be ready."

"Anything can happen."

"You can't live in fear."

"Learn to let go of everything you fear to lose."

"Accept the things you cannot change."

That's when he heard her. For the first time in months he heard her.

"Zar… Zar…"

"Kita?!"

"Your greatest test is at hand… trust in the force."

"Zar… Zar, wake up."

Zar awoke to see his master looking down at him. Zar was about to demand why he had been gone so long, but he stopped himself.

"Have you learned what I wanted you to learn?"

"Death is a natural part of life; this is something I cannot change… You saved Kita on Naboo, and I saved the two of you on Coruscant… but next time I might not be so lucky…"

"So what will you do?"

Zar thought long and hard before answering that question.

"… I will cherish every moment with her… and if or when I lose her… I will take comfort in knowing that one day we will both be together again in the force…"

Chad smiled.

"Very good Zar… Pack your things; it is time for your final test. If you succeed, I will take you home."

Zar's heart almost skipped a beat. Kita and the others had made a new home for them somewhere. He was one step away from seeing her again. He was one step away from becoming a full Jedi Knight.

"What is my final test, Master?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

Zar didn't waste any time getting all his things put away, he would have forgotten to eat his breakfast if his master hadn't reminded him. When they took off Chad had told Zar to meditate until they reached their destination. Zar hadn't sat down for thirty seconds before he heard Kita's words echo in his head.

"Your greatest test is at hand… trust in the force."

**(To be continued)**


	10. Korriban

Zar spent the entire trip meditating. He had already faced killer droids, the collection of scum an villainy in Jabba's Palace, and had spent months away from Kita, but he knew his final test would have to be the hardest. Kita's voice had told him so, and she would never lie to him. He waited patiently until his master came to get him.

"By the force!"

"Do you know where we are?"

Through the Dragoon's viewpoint window Zar saw a huge planet that looked completely devoid of life.

"The planet Korriban… burial place of the ancient Sith."

"Yes… This planet resonates with the power of the dark side, it is a domain of evil."

Zar could already see where this was going.

"I have to go… down there?"

"For your Trial of the Spirit Zar, you must go to the planet's surface, and find out from the only person on that planet, who is number one?"

Zar reminded himself that Kita was waiting for him, and his master wouldn't be asking this of him if he didn't think he could do it.

"It will be done master."

"I must warn you Zar, you will not face battle droids or bounty hunters down there, but something even more challenging. Find number one, but don't lose yourself doing so."

Chad dropped Zar off on the planet's surface; he then took the ship back into orbit and would wait until Zar was finished. It was so cold Zar could see his breath.

"Oh boy… Let's just get through this and get out of here… I don't want to spend one more second longer on this rock than I need to."

Zar had no idea where to look for this person his master had told him about, so he spend the first forty five minutes just wandering around. He felt uneasy and every couple minutes turned to look the other way, just to make sure he wasn't being followed.

"I really don't like this place… It gives me the creeps.... What the?"

Zar stumbled upon a large footprint. He checked it and determined that it had to be at least a day old.

"Whatever it was, it went that way. And I've got a pretty good feeling that is not where I'll find… whoever it is I'm looking for."

Zar thought, when taking the Trial of the Flesh apprentices had to look deep within themselves, on a quest of self-discovery. Often times, apprentices did not like what they saw, and it could be a highly traumatic experience. So what the hell was he doing on the planet Korriban, the place where Sith lords had been buried and memorialized since time immemorial?

"Wait… Is it because…"

Zar looked at his left hand, this all started when he almost blasted Vader with Force Lightening. He remembered feeling so angry, overcome by fear of losing Kita, and hating Vader so much for trying to take her from him and from the galaxy. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was Kita being there.

Zar's thought were interrupted by a tremor in the force. He looked in the direction he felt it and saw a cave up ahead.

"I sense who or whatever it is I'm looking for is in there."

Zar hadn't made it five steps within the cave when suddenly he a whole flock of flying creatures started to envelop him.

"Oh great, Shyracks!"

Shyracks were slow moving bat-like avian creatures with no eyes that were native to the caves of Korriban. Though blind and velocity challenged, in a flock they could easily rip Zar apart with their razor sharp teeth if they converged upon him together.

"Time to put my months of training to the test."

Zar started to channel the power of the force inside him into a little ball, then he let it all loose, creating a force repulse that sent the whole flock of Shyracks flying hard into the wall.

"Hmm… Patience is a virtue."

Zar continued deeper into the cave, it got colder and darker as he went on.

"That's not a problem."

Force seeing was a basic force power that would strengthen the user's visual and spatial perception. It was a very useful power because a Jedi knew their eyes could deceive them. Now Zar could see a lot better, he noticed that there was strange writing and glyphs all along the wall.

"Whoa… never seen this language before."

Zar imagined that the ancient Sith had brought many of their secrets to their graves here on Korriban. Power was what the Sith lived for, unlike the selfless Jedi, the Sith sought power only for personal gain. They had probably learned many of the secrets of the dark side of the force, but what was power without joy? History had taught Zar that the lives of the Sith were lonely. Darth Maul and Count Dooku both died alone, and Vader should have died on Mustafar. Spending an lifetime trying to acquire power, only to die alone and have your secrets written in a language that no one will understand, what kind of life was that?

"Some secrets are better left forgotten." he said moving on.

Zar went further on and the cave continued to grow darker and colder. He was really beginning to strain his senses so he see using force sight. Suddenly he saw something strange up ahead. There was a collection of strange dark auras up ahead blocking his path. He couldn't notice that aura if he hadn't been using force sight.

"Wait a minute…"

All at once the auras started to advance on him. Zar quickly ignited his lightsaber and slashed at them as they came. The auras disappeared and lumps of dead weight hit the ground.

"Just like I thought… Hssiss."

Hssiss were vicious giant lizards with the abitlity to turn invisible using the dark side of the force. They're teeth were also very poisonous, so Zar checked himself for bite marks before moving on.

Zar was starting to wonder how long he had been inside this cave. It was getting more eerie the deeper he went. He could swear he heard voices whispering to each other. He found himself turning his head to look around every few minutes.

"Child of our enemies, why have you come?"

"What? Who said that?!"

"This grave is not yours… but you are welcome in it."

Zar was staring to lose it.

"Who's there?!"

"Do not be afraid… We are your salvation."

"The dark side called and we obeyed… We have seen and we have learned… We have defied fate and laughed in the face of death… Do you really think you can stand up to those of us who have evolved so far?"

Zar started to run when suddenly he heard growling and snarling.

"Oh no…"

The way Zar came was blocked by a pack of Tuk'ata. Zar and the other had been told terrifying tales of these vicious creatures. The had guarded the tombs of the Sith for eons and were believed to be immortal, or drew nourishment from the force itself. Zar wanted to run, but he knew he would never get away before these creatures tore him to shreds with their six inch claws or their three rows of teeth, Tuk'ata were fast… very fast.

"Feel terror cloud your senses…Feel its power to manipulate… to control…"

"Know that this power can be yours."

Zar continued to move very slowly back in the other direction, and the Tuk'ata advanced on him just as slow, their red eyes burning with hunger, these creatures feasted on the blood of force sensitives, then just like that… one of them took a step back!

"What?"

One of the Tuk'ata that took a step back actually started running, then the others followed suit.

"They're some of the most vicious monster's I've even encountered… They would only run away if… Oh no."

Zar turned around and found himself face to face with a giant monster that dwarfed Jabba's Rancor. Zar almost mistook it for a Rancor, but then he noticed the huge sharp spines extending out of its back and the huge tusks-like projections attached to it's mouth. This was a Terentatek, a creature that was the end result of experiments of the Sith. Like just about everything else on Korriban it's tusks and claws were venomous, but Zar didn't have to worry about that, it would rip him apart and eat him before any poison could ever take effect. The creature's roar shook the entire cave.

"I think now's a perfect time for a tactical retreat."

Zar couldn't take over the Terentatek's mind like he did Jabba's Rancor, and he couldn't risk getting too close to creature because of its huge and venomous claws, all he could do was run.

"I wish I could turn invisible like Kita!"

Suddenly Zar got an idea, calling on the force he sped up and rushed into a dark corner in the opening up ahead. In a matter of moments Terentatek came in, but found nothing. Zar hadn't mastered the ability to render himself invisible, but he had learned to mask his presence in the force, and apparently that was enough, because the Terentatek gave up and left. Zar breathed a sigh of relief.

"I would give up my good arm for this day to just end."

Zar continued to walk down the tunnel expecting to run into some more nightmarish creatures.

"Is my master insane?! I'm not even a full Jedi Knight yet and he sends me into the nest of vipers all by myself! Why can't he find this number one by himself?!"

"What are you complaining about?" asked another part of him "This is just another test, and if you pass it you will see Kita again."

"Dealing with droids and bounty hunters is one thing… but this is totally different!"

"No, this is no different… It's only different in your mind."

"I'm on the burial site of the ancient Sith! I'm being chased by killer monsters!"

"It is no different… You passed your previous trials because you were at peace and handled everything rationally… You will know who number one is when you are at peace."

After that Zar tried his best to calm down, suddenly it was so dark he couldn't see anything even with force seeing. For a few bad moments there was nothing but darkness, then some torches were lit, but they burned an eerie dark color. He was in some kind of arena. He turned around and saw a huge tablet with some strange writing on it against the wall. The writing on the tablet was written in another language, but for some reason Zar could read every word on it as if it were written in Galactic Basic (The Star Wars equivalent to English).

_**Peace is a lie; there is only passion.**_

_**Through passion, I gain strength.**_

_**Through strength, I gain power.**_

_**Through power, I gain victory.**_

_**Through victory, my chains are broken.**_

_**The Force shall free me.**_

Zar could hear the sound of breathing through a respirator, but it was different from Vader's, this sounded harsh and like every breath taken was in pain. Then he heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting. He turned around and saw a Sith lord he had never seen before emerging from the darkness.

**(To be continued)**

**New illustration on deviantart: The Sith Lord!**


	11. Trial of the Spirit

At first Zar had mistaken the Sith lord for Vader, but he noticed the design of the Sith's armor was considerably different. The leneses on the helmet were blood red, as was the diamond shaped crystal on his chest plate. There were sharp prongs on his gauntlets and shimmering claws on his hands.

"Who… What are you?"

But the Sith lord answered not. Then Zar remembered what he had been told to find out from the only person on the planet.

"Who is number one?!" he demanded.

The Sith Lord didn't answer with words, he just took his light saber and did the Makashi salute. Zar understood that he had to beat this guy before he would tell him anything.

"Very well." he said igniting his own lightsaber "We'll do it the hard way."

A few months ago Zar would have jumped into this duel without knowing what he was up against, but by training with his master he learned that throwing the first punch wasn't everything. Instead he would let the Sith make the first move, that way he could observe what kind of fighting style he practiced, find it's weakness, and exploit it.

For about thirty seconds Zar and the Sith lord just carefully circled each other, waiting for the other person to make the first move. Finally the Sith lunged at him with a Juyo strike.

"Gives me the Makashi opening stance and salute and then attacks me with Juyo." thought Zar as he blocked the blow "He's trying confuse me, keep me off balance, I better be careful."

The Sith lord continued to lunge viciously at Zar who kept on the defensive so he could study the Sith's style. Over the past few months Zar had incorporated a little Soresu into his own fighting style, that way he could maintain a more defensive stance if necessary. He used to think Soresu was a weak form of combat because it didn't have a nearly any emphasis on attack, but that was before Kita used it to defeat Commander Mordred on Naboo.

"This guy isn't fooling around… He's attacking viciously, but not wasting any energy doing so… I better finish this quickly, or I'm the one who's going to end up dead… There's something familiar about his fighting style…"

Suddenly and without warning the Sith sent Force Lightening blasting out of his left hand. Zar raised his lightsaber just in time to block it.

"You'll have to do better than that."

The Sith charged at Zar and intensified the power of his attacks. Zar was able to block the attacks, but it made him feel uneasy how he knew this person's fighting style, like he had encountered it somewhere before… but where?

Zar waited for the Sith to give him an opening, then he channeled the force through his hands and sent him flying into the wall.

"Score one for the Jedi to be." he said triumphantly.

In no time at all the Sith rose to his feet, but instead of attacking he deactivated his lightsaber and placed it back on his belt. For a few moments he just stood there, then Zar saw several lightsabers, at least twelve come flying out of the Sith's cloak and activated in midair.

"Oh boy… I don't like where this is going…"

The Sith pointed at Zar, just like that one of the lightsabers came flying at him like a torpedo. Zar dodged it and it stuck into the wall behind him. The Sith pointed at him again and this time all the remaining lightsaber's came flying at him at once. When Zar dodged them they turned around and came flying at him again.

"And he's doing all this with his mind!"

Zar kept dodging the hail fire of lightsabers when suddenly he noticed the red one that zipped by him.

"Wait a minute… That looked like Vader's! Has the emperor found a successor?!"

While Zar was lost in his thought a blue bladed lightsaber came at him from behind and scored a wound across his leg. As Zar fell to the ground he saw something that was even more shocking.

"That's my master's blade!"

When Zar hit the ground the Sith called all his lightsabers back to him and advanced. When he was right on top of Zar he drew a lightsaber from his belt, but it wasn't the red one he had used at the start of their duel, it was blue, and it had a golden and silver hilt that Zar knew all too well.

"By the force! That's Kita's!"

For the first time, the Sith spoke.

"Now I will destroy you Jedi… As I destroyed your friends and Master."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Completely ignoring the wound in his leg, Zar got up and furiously swung his lightsaber, blowing the Sith back and knocking his helmet off.

"What!?! This can't be real!"

Underneath the Sith's helmet was an older version of Zar. His face was horribly scarred, and apparently he had lost his horns in battle. His eyes were full of pain and hatred. Then he started laughing.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? I know I have… MWAH-HA-AH-HA-AH!!!"

Just like that the evil Zar dissolved into thin air, leaving him alone.

"TELL ME!!! WHO IS NUMBER ONE!?!"

For a few moments Zar was all alone. Then he heard the familiar sound of a man breathing through a respirator, but it wasn't that of his evil self's. Darth Vader emerged out of the shadows and advanced towards him.

"No… no… I'm already wounded… I'm in no condition to fight Vader!"

Much to Zar's surprise Vader didn't draw his lightsaber. He just stared at him.

"I am number one." said the dark lord mockingly "I am the driving force in your life. I am fear, anger, hatred, and suffering. I drive you on… and consume you."

"NO!!!"

Zar took his lightsaber and flung it at Vader. When it struck him the dark lord dissolved into thin air just like Zar's evil self had done. Next Zar heard footsteps coming from behind. He turned around and saw a perfect reflection of himself, not like his evil self, it was himself exactly the way he was now.

"I am number one." he said "I don't care for anyone or anything."

"That's no true! I love Kita!"

"No you don't, you love yourself." replied Zar's reflection smiling mockingly "And you don't care about your family, the Jedi, the Sith, the Empire, or the Galaxy… Just looking out for number one."

Zar angrily used the force to blast the duplicate of himself into the wall, when it hit the ground it dissolved like the last two apparitions. Then the room was full of a blinding white light.

"Oh… what now?"

Suddenly Zar saw the silhouette of someone walking out of the light and towards him. The light started to fade and he could see who it was, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Kita… Kita is it really you?!"

She smiled at him, but unlike his reflection the smile was full of love. His dreams had never done her justice.

"I am number one." she said "I am the light you follow out of the darkness… I am love and compassion… I help you through the hard times… we are one in this life… and one day… we will be one in the force."

"… Kita!"

Zar ran over to embrace her… but when he was within breathing distance she dissolved into thin air just like the rest. Zar fell to the ground… and actually started crying. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and saw that it was his master. Everything he had just experienced wasn't real.

"Zar… A Jedi's greatest test is to look inside one's self… Often we see things we don't like… But take heart for these things are not set in stone… Unlike the past, the future isn't a written book, it is always in motion, always changing… We always have a choice… and you are who you choose to be."

Chad helped Zar to his feet.

"Now let's leave this unsightly rock of darkness and death… The others want to see it when you're knighted."

Zar thought he was going to start crying again.

"Master… Do you really mean it?"

Chad smiled at him.

"Let's go home Zar."

**(To be concluded)**

**That's right, we're not done yet.**


	12. Knighthood

Zar spent a great deal of the trip in the bacta tank. He was surprised that they still hadn't arrived by the time he got out.

"Where is this new home you found for us anyway?"

"The planet we're going to is on the other side of a wormhole that opens up far galactic east in the Unknown Regions, so nobody knows about it."

Zar decided to meditate while he waited. He could hardly wait to see Kita again after all this time.

"Zar…"

"What?"

Zar looked out the viewpoint and saw beautiful planet that seemed to be covered in jungles and ocean.

"Welcome to planet Osidara."

"Osidara?"

"In Kita's native tongue it means paradise."

Zar was awestruck that they had found such a beautiful place to live.

"Does anyone else live down there?"

"Just us and the wildlife. Now let's not keep everybody waiting."

As the Dragoon landed on the beach Zar could see the others rushing out to greet them… well, most of them.

"Hey everybody, look who's back!"

"Zar!"

Cera ran over and tackled him.

"You saved my little sister! Thank you!"

"Let him breathe Cera." said Kamilla "Whoa… Zar… you've really bulked up."

"It happens when you fight killer droids, bounty hunters, and Sith apparitions."

"And not just any bounty hunters." said Gan "Sora here tells us you went head to toe with Boba Fett himself!"

"Yeah… and I nearly got myself killed doing it. Where's Kita?"

"Oh, not far."

"Where?"

"That's for you to find out."

"… Oh come on that's not fair. After everything I just went through…"

"Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger."

"Ugh…Okay Kita… I'll play your little game."

Zar closed his eyes and started to focus.

"Cera, what's he doing?" asked Sora.

"He's trying to see with his feelings what he can't see with his eyes."

"Can you teach me that?"

Kita was the only one of Chad's Padawans who had learned how to use the force to turn invisible. Because of this she always had a huge advantage whenever she sparred with the others, but Zar wasn't trying to find her with his eyes.

"Open your other senses." he told himself.

Before he closed his eyes Zar had noticed that there were no footprints in the sand that didn't belong to himself, Cera, Sora, Gan, or Kamilla. He couldn't hear any movement either, so Kita had to be standing still somewhere. Save for the places with everyone else's footprints the sand was undisturbed, so Kita must've force leapt to where ever she was, that way she wouldn't leave any tracks to cover up. Zar started moving around, but he didn't reach blindly for anything.

"… Ah ha."

Zar walked quietly past a rock, acting like there was nothing there worth his notice, then he suddenly turned around and pounced at it. He tackled Kita to the ground and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Slow down there Zar." she said as she kept his hand from going where it wasn't supposed to "I'm glad to see you too."

Zar's face turned redder than it usually was.

"Sorry… I've just missed you so much."

"I missed you a lot too, but you don't see me reaching for the forbidden zone."

"Something's never change."

"I'd hate to interrupt this lovely reunion." said Chad "But it's time for the ceremony."

"What ceremony? Oh yeah!"

Zar took his place at his master's feet. Chad ignited his lightsaber and moved it in a swift motion above Zar's head.

"Zar, by the power vested in me as a Jedi Master, and by the will of the force, I dub thee Jedi Knight."

"Congratulations!"

"Zuh! Zuh! Zuh!" said Chad's infant son.

While Zar had spend the last several months training and taking the Jedi trials, the others had been making a home for them on this new world. They had made a large hut out of tree trunks and whatever else they could find.

"Okay I'll admit it's a fixer upper." said Kita "But a couple throw rugs, some flowers here and there…"

"Yes… As long as we're together… it's home." said Zar.

That night Zar and Kita were alone on the beach looking up at the stars. It was nothing new but it was still romantic.

"You've changed in more ways than one."

"Yes… I no longer care about the things we can't change." said Zar "Right now all that matters is that we keep the ways of the Jedi alive… But I still wish we could do something about the Sith and the Empire."

"Don't worry Zar. While you were building muscle mass, I was prying into the future with meditation, and I have seen."

"You think the Empire's going to fall someday?"

Kita smiled.

"Not only will the Jedi return and incite people to rise up against Palpatine and his oppression, not only that… but the Empire will be defeated… by Ewoks!"

Zar laughed.

"Yeah… That'll be the day."

**(The End)**

**I have just successfully completed my 20th fanfiction!**


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